The Slayer's Curse
by Argyle Butterfly
Summary: The newly called Slayers are falling ill and dying. The SWC in desperation go to Dr. House for a cure.
1. Chapter 1

**The Slayer's Curse**

Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer was created by Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy Productions and is licensed by 20th Century Fox. House, M.D. was created by David Shore and is distributed by the Fox Network. Only the ideas contained within this story are mine. No profit has been, or will be, made by writing this story.

Timeline: Post Buffy the Vampire Slayer and during Season 2 of House. This short story refers specifically to John Henry Giles Season 1 Episode 9 – DNR.

I am not a doctor nor do I work in the health care industry. If you are sick please do not look to free advice offered in fanfiction instead see a medical professional. This story is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter One

As the middle-aged man limped to the hospital exit, he smiled feeling the warm spring sunshine on his face. He was eagerly anticipating hitting the open road on his motorcycle. "Almost there," he muttered, "Freedom!" His shuffling pace quickened as he spied the exit. The hospital's automatic doors silently slid open as though participating in his escape.

His departure was brought to an abrupt end when he heard one of his residents rush over, "Dr House, Dr Cuddy sent me to get you, another girl has been admitted."

"Foreman, would you please be a little more specific? I am sure there are many girls admitted to this hospital on a daily basis."

Ignoring the snarky comment Dr. Foreman replied, "Dr. House, this girl shows similar symptoms to the three girls that were admitted earlier this month, each of them, as you are already aware, are dead."

"Well, if she's dead too then you don't need me now, do you?" he gave his resident a smiling grimace as he tried to escape again.

His patience wearing thin Dr. Foreman persisted, "This one is not dead yet and your presence has been personally requested. She was rushed to the Emergency having convulsions and she is experiencing hypersensitivity. She has a rash over forty percent of her body, she has been stabilized and is lying comatose in a clean room."

"What do you need me for than? It seems obvious that the girl has either been poisoned or has suffered head trauma which resulted in her having a seizure and in turn caused her immune system to shut down. If that will be all Foreman, I will be off."

Before the young doctor could respond to House's hurried diagnosis they were interrupted by an English accent. "You are needed because your insights into this case will not only save this young girl's life but potentially hundreds of other young women who are sharing her fate." At Dr. House's skeptical look the man continued, "Or perhaps because our corporation is in the process of making a substantial donation to this hospital on the condition that you personally oversee the medical treatment of not only this young woman but all of the other women suffering from similar symptoms who are being brought here."

Dr. Cuddy seeing Dr. House speaking to the hospital's newest potential donor rushed over before the caustic doctor caused another donation loss. "Oh good, I see the two of you have already met. Have you been properly introduced?" She began to babble attempting to diffuse the building tension. House, Giles and Foreman stared at her as she continued, "Dr. Giles, I would like to introduce to you Dr. Gregory House, Head of Diagnostic Medicine here at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Dr. House you came highly recommended by one of your former patients, John Henry Giles. This is Dr. Rupert Giles CEO of SWC Incorporated."

"How do you do," Giles acknowledged the introduction. Although anyone listening could tell this remark was made more out of politeness than any sense of concern for the rude doctor.

Dr. House, always on the lookout for a puzzle to be solved took a more active interest, "Dr. Giles, are you a medical doctor?"

"No, I have two PhDs one in Ancient Languages and another in Ancient History."

"Are you and John Henry Giles directly related?"

Giles was prepared for Dr. House's abrupt rudeness and intrusion into his personal life having been prepped by John before he travelled to Trenton. "He is my cousin."

"What is SWC Incorporated?"

"I'm sorry but I cannot release privileged information nor is it relevant to this case. Are you going to save this girl's life or not?" Giles was getting impatient with this rude doctor.

House stared intently at Giles seeing a middle-aged man with visible scars presenting puzzles that begged to be solved. "Give me the file".

As Foreman handed the file over to House, Cuddy breathed a sigh of relief and went back to her office, "I'll leave you to the case while I get the paperwork for the donation ready," she called over her shoulder smiling at Giles as she scurried away.

"Foreman, book an MRI for Miss Smyth and meet me in the diagnostic room." As Foreman left House turned to Giles and remarked, "Your accent is different from your cousin's. And I'm sorry but I fail to see the family resemblance – well maybe around the eyes." House's eyes narrowed, "When John Henry Giles was here he mentioned he had no family nor did we see you when he died on us and was resuscitated. Furthermore your skin tone is a bit off to be assuming a kinship with that particular patient. You really should do your homework first."

"Not that it is any of your business, but John was adopted by my Father's sister. When she emigrated to the United States my Father cut off all ties to her. My Aunt never married; however, wanting to create a family she adopted a young boy – John Henry. Recently I have had reason to re-connect with family and searched for my missing relative. John and I have hit it off rather well and when he found out we needed a diagnostician he told me that we needed you. He claims you saved his life."

House looked Giles in the eyes and replied, "I merely corrected a misdiagnosis."

"Interesting, John implied you were surprising but he never warned me to expect humility from you."

House looked to each side to ensure they were alone before affixing Giles with a beady glare, "The girl, what's really wrong with her? How is she related to the others who have fallen ill? I will be able to give you a faster and more accurate diagnosis if you are honest with me."

Giles took a breath and paused for a moment forcing his impatience and anger to back down from House's challenging glare and replied, "I'm not sure why they are falling ill but more girls are being shipped to this location."

"Do they all have the same symptoms?"

"As far as I know, yes."

"How many?"

"My colleagues have found fifteen so far."

"All of these patients have been underage teenage girls. Am I to expect this hospital to be filled with teary eyed meddling family members?"

"No, the SWC has POA for all of these girls."

"Your corporation can make health related decisions for a bunch of teenagers?"

"One of our organization's foundations is a boarding school/teaching facility. The SWC and the girl's families only want the best for these girls. Their families have provided us with the authority to make this type of decision to avoid any delay in care. We have set it up so that two senior members must sign off on any consent forms. Buffy Summers will be here to join me and together we will sign any paperwork for our organization."

"Buffy Summers? That sounds like the name of a stripper rather than someone with the authority to sign off on a teenager's life. I look forward to meeting her." House gave Giles a lecherous wink and started to hobble away.

"I hope I meet your expectations," a strong female voice announced behind him.

Giles' face brightened when he saw Buffy standing before him. She was dressed in a light grey pantsuit and calf high leather boots with stiletto heels. Her hair was held back in a chignon giving the impression of a mature young professional.

As House started to turn around he remarked, "So you must be the hooker?"

Giles' anger at the man's abrupt hostility to Buffy and his rude greeting just about set him over the edge in the already charged atmosphere.

Sensing an outburst Buffy placed her hand gently on Giles' arm as she stated, "I assume you have determined the cause of Maryse's illness if you are wasting your time socializing here in the front lobby?" After years of trading insults with vampires she was not about to let a cripple with a grudge get in the way of her target. In the past year since Sunnydale's collapse their group needed leaders and Buffy and Giles had learned to combine their strengths and work together for the cause.

House gave her a long admiring look before silently walking away. As he walked by his best friend who was watching from a distance House called to him, "Watch out Wilson! There's a new Ice Queen in the hospital."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

As House entered his team's diagnostic area he heard them arguing, "They have to be connected, each of these women had similar symptoms and eventually lost their immunity to their surroundings." Foreman insisted.

"They can't be connected. I did a thorough history and these girls had nothing in common. They all came from different backgrounds, there is no shared family history, and they did not travel together or live in the same area. They all came from completely different parts of the country; one wasn't even in this country but became sick while vacationing here from Canada." Cameron argued.

"Which is odd, why are cases so similar turning up here? That alone implies a connection," Chase hypothesized.

"The reason is because Cameron's history of these girls is not complete." House interjected dropping the file on the table.

"I would argue against that," Cameron began.

"Don't you know by now my little innocent? Everyone lies. We have just been assigned by the hospital to solve this mystery and apparently more girls are on the way. Differential diagnostic time people, what do we have?" House asked as he walked to his whiteboard.

"It could be a brain infection or a metabolic disorder." Foreman offered.

"Prescription or recreational drug use," offered Chase, "or it could be Lupus."

"It could be structural damage to the brain or exposure to toxins. I noticed this girl and the one that came in earlier had abnormal scars on their bodies as though they were used to physical combat." Cameron theorized.

"Ok team we now have too many possible causes and not enough information. The girl needs to have an MRI, an EEG, a lumbar puncture and start running the blood work."

"And what are you going to do?" asked Foreman.

"Unfortunately I'm scheduled for clinic duty for the next two hours and after that I'm going to research the acronym 'SWC'. Our new sponsor is making a generous contribution to this hospital and has a vested interested in healing these girls. I want to know what we are dealing with and what they aren't telling us. They may somehow be the cause of the girl's illness."

As House started walking towards his dreaded clinic duty he limped by the windows facing the outdoor courtyard, noticing Giles and Buffy conferring quietly with each other. "Interesting," he mused "I wonder what type of relationship they have?"


	3. Chapter 3

"You are late House," Cuddy declared as she handed him a patient's file. "Exam room 3 is all yours."

"I was with the hospital's newest donors and then checking with my team to ensure my patient is properly cared for. You do want these donors happy don't you?" House stated piously.

Cuddy paused, "Are you done with them?"

"For now," he admitted.

"Than exam room 3."

"Did you know the girls get all perky when you get angry?" House observed making a direct reference to her ample bosom. Cuddy glared at him and walked away circling the nurses' station. "Oh those laser points are really shooting out now!" he said while still staring at her breasts. When he saw her stop he quickly grabbed the patient's chart and hurried into exam room 3.

"Now what do we have here, Miss Jones?" He looked up to verify he had the right file and saw her frantically scratching her legs, "You're scratching," House quietly voiced the obvious.

"Of course I'm scratching. I'm itchy! And it's driving me crazy! My legs look like they've been torn to shreds and I've only got two weeks until my wedding."

"How long have you been itchy?"

"It started about a month ago but its getting worse. As if I don't have enough to deal with."

"Tell me are you saving money by planning it all on your own?"

"Yes!"

"Are your family and friends driving you crazy and your fiancé is no help at all?"

"Yes, even Stephanie, my best friend since nursery school, whom I thought I could count on…" House held up his hand to stop the tirade.

"Take it as a sign. Cancel before it's too late."

"WHAT!" she screeched, "I can't do that I've waited so long to have the big wedding of my dreams. I have been planning this since I was a little girl. I already have deposit money on everything and the wedding is in just two weeks!"

House interrupted again, "But this isn't what you pictured is it?"

"No, it's a lot more work. People whom I thought I could count on are making the planning difficult especially family. Sam and I are paying for it all ourselves and our parents are insisting on inviting everyone they ever met."

"But you won't cancel?"

"No, it's too important to both my fiancé and me."

"Than take this," House quickly wrote three prescriptions one for Prednisone, one for a topical steroid cream and one for Valium.

"What's this?"

"The stress of your wedding is causing physical manifestations in your body. I do not recommend any of these medications for a long period of time but it will help you to get to your wedding with some of your skin intact. My first recommendation would be to wake up and run like hell away from this disaster before it happens." The patient stared at him in horror. "However given that you are obviously too deficient to listen to my sound advice my next piece of wisdom would be to elope. However as you have already stated that this is not an option than you should try to fit activities into your schedule that will lower your stress level like yoga and meditation. And for Pete's sake get a massage!"

"And will that cure me?"

"It will probably mitigate the symptoms but until your stressful event is over your body is going to pay. Stress kills." The young brunette was left looking at the prescriptions as House left exam room three only to have Cuddy hand him another file. "But Mom", House whined, "I've already seen a patient today."

"Exam room 2 now!"

House limped to exam room 2 to see a young man sitting waiting patiently. "Well Mr. Granger what seems to be the trouble?"

"I've got a growth on my arm and it's getting bigger. It kind of feels like there's something alive inside it."

"Roll up the sleeve of your shirt and let me see."

The young man rolled up his long sleeved shirt and House could clearly see a large bump on his arm.

"What is it doc? Is it a growth? Is it cancer? I've got cancer don't I? I'm gonna die!"

Interrupting the young man House asserted, "Mr. Granger, you seem to be remarkably tanned and it's only April. I'm assuming from the shade of your skin that you obtained it naturally, meaning not from a bottle or a store."

"Yeah, I just got back from backpacking with a bunch of buddies. We were in Central America for three weeks hiking through the rainforest. Best trip ever! You should definitely go, you'd love the trails."

"Unfortunately Mr. Granger my days of hiking trails through the rainforest are behind me." House tapped his cane on the floor a couple of times for emphasis.

"Oh man, that sucks."

House poked his head out of the exam room and waved for one of the nurses to assist him. "It would appear Mr. Granger that you brought something back with you."

"Only for myself man, I swear."

"Not that Mr. Granger although I would recommend showering after using as the pungent smell does cling to one's clothes. Did you get bit by any bugs while you were away?"

"I told you dude, I was in the jungle. Of course I got bit but it was completely worth it."

"Of course it was." House laid the young man's arm across the metal tray and gathered the tools he thought he would need. House froze the area and told the nurse to clean the skin while he got a scalpel.

"What are you doing?" the young stoner asked.

"Hold still, you shouldn't feel a thing." House sliced the bump open and with a pair of long handled tweezers he removed the botfly larva from the young man's arm.

"Congratulations! It's a bug," House stated as he pulled the inch long bug from the man's arm and put it in a container the nurse held ready.

"Cool, can I keep it?"

"No," House said giving him a slightly disgusted look, "But you can have this," House handed him a prescription for antibiotics.

As the nurse cleaned the area where the bug had been House advised, "There shouldn't be any infections as this type of larva produce antibiotic secretions that help to prevent infection while it's feeding."

House had just started the process of stitching the young man's arm when Buffy walked into the exam room just as the nurse was leaving. "What are you doing? Why aren't you working on our case?" Buffy demanded.

"I'm busy at the moment," House muttered as he continued to stitch up the cut.

"And you're doing a terrible job. It's going to leave him a scar; give me that." she stated as she took the needle from his hands and began a professional job of suturing the cut. House was surprised at her ability.

"Thanks Dudette. Hey foxy lady nurse, do you want to go out with me some time?"

"No," Buffy answered in what House would describe as a 'knee jerk' reaction. She looked up taking in the rumpled clothes, the unkempt appearance and the smell of ganga and clarified, "definitely not."

House smiled and looked down quickly but he noticed it was not quick enough, 'she saw that' he thought to himself, 'remarkable' thinking about her ability to perceive her environment. House and Buffy left exam room 2 together to see Cuddly making a determined beeline for House. Buffy saw House grimace.

"House, I have another case ready for you in exam room 1."

"She is making me pay for commenting on her breasts," he theorized aloud as he reached for the file. Buffy batted down his arm before he could touch it.

"No, our corporation has made an impressively large donation to this hospital under the express condition that Dr. House and his team focus all of their energy on our cases. We own him now, and until these cases have been solved and Maryse and the other girls are well, House is off limits."

"Well Buffy, that would be a waste of hospital resources. House's team is busy running tests on the patient and while that is being done he can make himself useful by performing his mandatory clinic hours."

Having faced down a Hell Goddess and the First Evil Buffy was not about to let the hospital administrator run roughshod over her. "Dr. Cuddy, to you its Miss Summers and there will soon be over a dozen patients with similar symptoms. We are having them all shipped here. I hope that is not a problem?"

"No, of course not," Dr. Cuddy stammered.

"The SWC expects these girls to receive the finest care money can buy. And by the way Dr. Cuddy," House noticed Buffy's eyes harden, "if we lose a single girl we will take vengeance upon the party responsible."

"Is that a threat Miss Summers? Because I can tell you that we have excellent lawyers at our disposal and Princeton-Plainsboro does not react well to threats."

As Buffy bristled ready to give an angry retort House watched Giles walk into the clinic. House could see him mumbling words in a foreign language and whisking his fingers in a quick half circle.

"Miss Summers it's always a pleasure to deal with you. Please let me know if there is anything Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital or I can do for you." Dr. Cuddy smiled brightly and walked away.

"Giles, I was handling it."

"I know you were Buffy I just expedited it."

"What did you just do to Cuddy?" House demanded.

"Do you believe in hypnosis?" Giles asked.

"Well yes, but..."

"Good that's what we're going to call it, now on to Maryse, can you cure her?"

"We still don't know what's wrong with her. Perhaps if you and Bunny here were a bit more forthcoming with information…" House trailed off purposefully mangling Buffy's name as a childish reaction to Cuddy's treatment by the head of the SWC.

"My name is Buffy you jack-ass, and you have all of the information that you need," the petite blonde stormed at him stamping her foot to emphasize her point as she glared up at him.

"Ok, how about a shot in the dark, what did you do to these girls in this cult you all belong to?"

"Cult? Us?" Giles asked.

"Yes cult, mysterious organization whose members include a bunch of impressionable young ladies led by a middle aged man and his bag of parlour tricks."

"Hey!"

"Don't worry I didn't forget about you sweet cheeks. You two act as though you've been together for years but from Blondie's age that would mean you probably got together while you were still in school. What was he, your homeroom high school teacher?" House stared at Buffy.

"The librarian actually." Buffy admitted, "But it's not what you think."

"Oops my bad," House continued while walking to the elevators, "I really wish…"

His sentence was cut off as Buffy put her foot out and tripped him while Giles gave him a push from behind.

"What did you do that for?" House fumed looking up from the ground. Both Giles and Buffy offered him a hand to help him up. "Tripping a cripple. Is there anything the two of you won't stoop to?"

"No, and neither will you. John Henry told me all about you and the tricks you'll play to get your own way. We are okay with your tactics but there will be no using the word 'wish' while we are involved nor will you or any your team ever use that word in connection to us or any of the girls who belong to the SWC." Giles stated.

"Can I ask why?"

"Of course you can ask anything you want but you won't learn a damn thing," Buffy answered.


	4. Chapter 4

Giles, Buffy and House stood and stared at each other as though in a Mexican standoff until House's beeper went off. As he looked down at it he announced, "More of your guests are arriving," House made his way to the Emergency Room. He saw Giles and Buffy look at each other nervously. He turned around to face them, "potentially how many patients are we going to receive?"

"We've been able to track down and identify 145 girls around the world; however that number may grow," Giles admitted.

"From that number exactly how many have died and how many have fallen ill?" House persisted.

"31 dead and another 15 have fallen ill," Giles answered.

"It's all my fault," Buffy admitted as her eyes started to tear up.

"Buffy it isn't your fault," Giles reassured her as he held her in his arms.

House's team joined them in the hospital hallway. They watched as the young blonde cuddled into the older man's arms and House stood looking at them thoughtfully.

"Come on House, we've got to move," Foreman urged.

As though a spell had been broken Buffy and Giles broke apart and continued to the emergency room followed by a grim faced House.

"Willow!" Buffy called as she noticed the roots of her friend's hair turning black, "snap out of it you aren't helping!"

"She's going to die Buffy, just like the others," Willow was holding Kennedy's hand in her own.

"And we are going to try and prevent that from happening Willow. When did Kennedy fall ill?"

"About three hours ago. We were talking and laughing and than she had a seizure."

"Dr. House, there is something wrong here. This might sound crazy but it seems like this girl is surrounded by some kind of force field." Dr. Cameron stood up beside the girl identified as Kennedy and looked at House beseechingly.

"Normally Cameron, I would agree that diagnosis sounds crazy but not today."

"You two we need to talk right now, and you too Elvira, come with me." He pointed at Willow whose eyes had started to turn black while they watched her. As he led the three Sunnydale survivors into a nearby empty examining room he stated, "I can't help them if I don't know the truth. How are these girls related? There does not appear to be any commonality between them but they are all sick with the same symptoms. If I don't know what's going on they are going to die! And as much as it pains me to admit it, if these girl's illnesses are related I will need to inform the CDC."

Buffy, Giles and Willow looked uncomfortably at each other; after a long moment both Giles and Willow gave Buffy a slight nod, both of them independently giving her permission to share their story with House.

"You want the truth?" Buffy fumed, "What if I was to tell you I'm a mystical warrior who was destined to fight the powers of darkness, and Willow", she indicated her friend, "is one of the most powerful wielders of magic here on Earth."

House looked over to Willow whose face had turned crimson at the praise Buffy lavished on her and gave him a finger wave. House noticed that all traces of black had left her hair and eyes.

"I died and Willow did a summoning spell bringing me back from Heaven. Unfortunately my returning in this manner caused havoc between good and evil, allowing the First Evil to rise again. The only way we were able to defeat the First Evil was by using a sacred scythe and activating all of the potential Slayers in the world. Only after the Slayers were given their ability were we able to overcome the powers of darkness. Each of these girls who are sick are Slayers who were called with the activation spell."

House was quiet as he listened to her account. He looked at each of the people in the room carefully after Buffy had finished her fanciful story; Willow looked embarrassed, Buffy defiant and Giles resigned.

"Bullshit. I don't know what you're on young lady but this isn't a game. Girls have died and it looks like more are going to die." House turned his anger to Giles, "Is this the mumbo jumbo you are filling their heads with? So when is it time for the red Kool-Aid? Or are you already poisoning them and this is the result of their belief in your false gods?"

The three friends stood together to form a united front to the sarcastic doctor.

Giles glared at the man, "She told you the truth."

"Yeah right, let's pretend that I believe you." They looked up angry at his tone of voice. "If this were the truth there would be no way that I could treat these girls. We would all just be wasting our time here and there would be nothing I could do medically except make them comfortable as they died."

"What do you mean?" demanded Buffy.

The hair of Willow's head once again darkened from the roots and her eyes went black, "I will not lose Kennedy to your arrogance," She thrust her arm out and House felt his body being slammed against the wall. He had been thrown backwards 5 feet and pinned to the wall by her will alone.

"Willow give him a moment to explain. The nice doctor can't help us if he gets flayed," Buffy bravely stepped in front of House to calm the witch down. Willow stared at Buffy and blinked releasing the magic she had gathered.

"My dear girl you give us such a scare when you do that," Giles commented as he walked over to Willow and hugged her to him tightly.

"Flay me?" chocked out House wide-eyed as he leaned against the wall.

Buffy looked over her shoulder and took pity on the crippled doctor, "Its not going to happen," she announced confidently. She walked over to him picking his cane off of the floor where it had landed and instructed her friend, "Willow try to play nice with the good doctor."

Willow stepped forward and knelt beside Dr. House who was sitting on the floor with his back to the wall as he frantically tried to open his Vicodin bottle. Guilt had started to set in and she decided to help the angry doctor, "with our help you won't need that anymore. Buffy come here; I need some of your strength."

"There is nothing you can do," House declared, "There is nothing anyone can do. The muscle is dead I'm lucky to have the use of my leg at all."

"It's not completely dead Dr. House." Willow reassured him putting one hand on his thigh muscles and her hand tightly gripped Buffy's hand. Willow concentrated and House could feel his leg muscles start to knit together and the dead cells regenerate. "At this moment it's the best I can do. After the girls have been taken care of we will work together and fix your leg."

When Willow sat back looking a little drained House gingerly tested his leg and found that it was no longer painful. He stared at them with wonder, "how did you do that?"

"Magic," answered Giles. There is more to this world than you are aware and the girls in our care fight the darkness to keep you safe. They are heroes but right now they are defenseless and need someone to save them."

"If you can perform miracles like this," House began indicating his leg, "Why do you need me?"

Looking frustrated Giles responded, "Do you think we haven't tried magic? We've had 31 girls die on us already. Three died in this very hospital but nothing seems to work. One moment you may be talking to a healthy young woman and the next thing you know she is convulsing on the floor. We are desperate!"


	5. Chapter 5

Looking shaken House theorized, "From your story you indicated that the Universe is balanced with both Good and Evil. But when Buffy returned in the manner she did you swung the balance too far to the side of Good allowing the First Evil to gain a foothold. You retaliated by activating all of the Potential Slayers once again swinging the balance over to the side of Good. It would appear that the Universe is attempting to right itself by killing off all of the recently activated Slayers. You either need to undo what you have done or something even more Evil needs to be created to maintain the balance."

"He's right kid," Whistler walked though the wall to stand beside House, "You're pretty good at this mate. You ever want a job just let me know," he said as he handed House a business card.

"Whistler are you responsible for this?" Buffy ground out between clenched teeth.

"No, weren't you listening? You are."

"What are you doing here?" Giles demanded, "Are you here to help?"

"Actually I've come to offer this fine doctor a job. He seems to see things from a perspective my bosses appreciate. Most people go through life making judgment calls that are black and white but life is full of shades of grey and the Powers that Be think Dr House and his way of thinking would be a perfect fit in our line of work." House stared at the strange man while he took the card which was offered to him and tucked it into his jeans back pocket. "Good luck!" Whistler said as he shook House's hand and left through the wall before Buffy could offer any threats to his person. House quickly opened the door after Whistler left and looked down the hallway not seeing the strange visitor.

"Who or what the hell was that?" questioned House.

Ignoring House's question Willow asked, "What'll we do now? Are they all going to die?"

"My team and I are going to try conventional medicine to treat the symptoms of these girls. However if you want to save their lives you are going to have to set things right like you should have done the first time. Life shouldn't be about escalating warfare; it should have balance and it looks like your group has caused this. You need to get that scythe and reverse the process."

"So you aren't going to cure our girls?" Buffy challenged.

"No, there is nothing that I can do to fix them; the underlying cause of their illness is what you did to them a year ago. Theoretically if you remove that, then like when you remove a tumor they should get better. Some of them may require treatment because the underlying cause triggered other symptoms in their bodies; in fact they should all be checked out. However after the process is complete the only one left to treat would be you."

"Me?" Buffy said surprised, "But I'm not sick."

"Bringing you back magically put the world out of balance. If we were to kill you and bring you back here in the hospital using medical equipment it should sort out the balance."

As this sentence left House's lips they all heard Whistler's voice say, "The Powers have picked a perfect candidate – don't forget to call me House."

"How much time do you need to reverse the spell that called the Slayers into power?" Giles asked.

"I need a few hours to get the spell ingredients together." Willow responded.

"In that time we should be warning the girls and their Watchers that they will be losing their powers and they will need to be taken here for a check up." Giles suggested to Buffy.

"I guess its going to be just you and me again, eh big guy?"

"And Faith." Willow interjected.

"Yes, who could forget Faith? She should be sent to the most active hotspot of demon activity before it is overwhelmed with evil. I should get there too."

"Buffy, if this works, evil is also going to get weaker as the world tries to reestablish balance in the Universe. And don't forget that you will soon need to be treated to create that balance."

"How could I forget about having to die again? I guess this one will be number four. Just make sure it doesn't stick either ok?"

House let her bizarre comment pass without judgment. This whole scenario was completely out of the ordinary. Who was he to judge how many times someone thought they had died?

"Willow, you need to hurry and meet us back to my hotel room when you are ready. And Willow," she looked up expectantly at Giles, "do be a dear and release the protective force field from around Kennedy. We don't want to draw any more attention to ourselves than is necessary, do we?" Willow blushed and quickly nodded her acquiescence.

They all filed out of the examining room. House was the last to leave. He pulled the card out of his pants pocket and stared at it as he thought about what had just transpired, "Call me," Whistler's voice rang out in his head, "we can even work something out part time if you are interested."

"Maybe," House said softly, "Wilson has been after me for years to get a hobby."


	6. Chapter 6

As House left the examining room he called his team over for a quick conference, "Foreman, Chase and Cameron get these girls all established in rooms and make them comfortable."

"How do you want to treat them? What tests do you want us to run?" Cameron asked.

"Just keep them comfortable and out of pain, no tests right now. We'll start treating them later tonight."

"What's going on?" Chase demanded. "How are we going to treat them if we can't properly diagnose them?"

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it. Things are under control." House strolled to the bank of elevators to spend the next couple of hours in his office relaxing knowing he needed time to reflect on the information he had been presented with.

Back at the hotel Buffy turned to Giles and asked, "What do you think Giles? Is he right? If we do this there will be no turning back."

"Unfortunately Buffy I think he is right which means it'll just be you and Faith again to face the darkness."

"At least the powers of darkness are going to take a hit too. It should be just normal vampires and demons we face instead of the super villains we have been seeing during the last year. But I'm so tired, Giles I'm tired of fighting."

"I know Buffy," Giles muttered as he rubbed her back. "At least now we have resources at our disposal which means you will have a car, accommodations, clothing and a living allowance plus discretionary spending money. You will still need to fight the forces of evil but at least you can look good doing it." He gave her a teasing jest.

Buffy turned around and gave her Watcher a hug. "I guess we need to once again make some plans with the SWC."

"That Dr. House is quite a character. Do you think we can retain him for future services?"

"I think his curiosity will prompt him to accept that offer. House does seem to see things from an unusual perspective. He will probably make an excellent Balance Demon." Buffy responded.

"You think he'll take Whistler up on his offer?"

"You don't?"

Willow knocked at the door. She was carrying a couple of grocery bags full of ingredients that she needed to invoke the spell. She spread a drop cloth over the empty space in the room. "I think this is enough space to draw the pentagram here. Buffy do you have the scythe?"

Buffy reached under the bed and pulled out the case that Willow had hid the scythe in, opened it and handed the weapon to her.

Willow lit a candle at each of the points and sat in the centre of the star. "Goddess hear me now. Please return the powers previously bestowed upon the newly awakened.

Reverto ops falx. Vigoratus orbis terrarum quod reverto pondera. Rememdium Potentials. permissum trucido versus reverto.* Undo the damage we have wrought. Return the power to the Chosen One and let destiny follow its course. Let my Will be done!"

While Willow was chanting Giles and Buffy noticed that the colour of Willow's hair faded until it was completely white. She appeared to glow momentarily and a bright light was cast out originating from the scythe and appeared to expand from the source like a supernova. Willow fell backwards with a blissful smile on her face.

"Did it work Giles?"

"Lets call Dr. House and find out," as soon as House picked up the phone Giles announced, "The spell has been cast how are the girls?"

"I'll call you right back," House responded as he hung up the phone.

Foreman, Chase and Cameron had all been sitting with their new patients and were just about tripping over each other to reach Dr. House first. "Some kind of weird shit has gone down," announced Dr. Foreman.

"Is that your professional medical opinion doctor?" asked House.

"All of the girls glowed briefly and a bright light emanated from them. They are now all responding to traditional treatment for their symptoms," offered Cameron.

House's smile could have lit up a room. "Perfect, now all we have to do is kill a blonde to set things right."

Cameron and Chase both took a step behind Foreman who looked at them impatiently saying, "Come on, you two can't you tell when he's joking?"

"Actually I'm not joking," he chuckled as he watched the look of horror cross each of his intern's faces, "but don't worry my little innocents, this doesn't have anything to do with you."

"Have you been taking too many Vicodin, Dr. House?" asked Chase.

"No, in fact I haven't taken any since having my first treatment earlier today."

"What's going on Dr. House and no joking around," demanded Foreman.

"Life is a mystery and today I learned that sometimes it is better to give people the benefit of the doubt. Now be off with you. The hospital's newest donors will be here soon and we would hate for them to not be impressed with the treatment we are providing their girls." House shooed them out of the room to allow himself time to process the day's events.

* Admittedly terrible translation but it sounded good.


	7. Chapter 7

Epilogue

House smiled as he ran his fingers through Buffy's hair. The two of them were just waking up in Mexico having taken a short vacation away from their responsibilities although to be honest both of them had significantly less responsibilities now then they had a year ago.

Over the last year not only had the young Slayers been demoted from Slayers to Potentials but Buffy was no longer the 'true' Vampire Slayer. Although she retained her abilities, she could no longer feel the scythe's power when she held it. There was only one active Hellmouth and Faith, with her partner Robin Wood, kept a close eye on it. Buffy had been called in for an apocalyptic event, but for the most part Buffy was retired and loving it. The SWC even paid her a pension.

Gregory House had quit his job working at Princeton Plainsboro and instead spent most of his time functioning as a Balance Demon working for the Powers that Be. He still consulted on cases that interested him and since the SWC had listed him as one of their Board Members it allowed him to have access to hospitals worldwide and increased the puzzles available for him to solve.

House and Buffy had coupled up as she recuperated in the hospital after they stopped her heart and restarted it. She was shocked to discover he had thought she was involved with Giles romantically and quickly set him straight.

Rupert Giles and Lisa Cuddy had started dating while Rupert had been visiting Buffy in the hospital. The two of them were quick to move in together and were talking about adopting a child.

Eric Foreman had taken over House's position at Princeton Plainsboro with both Allison Cameron and Robert Chase working on his team. Occasionally they still called in House for tricky diagnostic work but they tried to avoid it if possible not only due to his caustic personality and taunting attitude, but Cuddy wanted to avoid the exorbitant consulting fees he always charged.

Most of the young Slayers who had lost their powers were relieved to be back to normal and able to return to their families. However Kennedy was one of the exceptions to the rule, to the despair of Willow she took her own life unable to live again as a 'normal' girl.

Willow although heartbroken took Kennedy's death as a sign to make some changes to her life and re-enrolled in University courses; her intention was to become a psychiatrist.

Buffy looked over at House and ran her hand over his thigh. "Willow did a great job at healing your leg."

"Don't kid yourself. She could never have done it without your strength." House again smiled at her as he leaned in for a kiss.


End file.
